Accessbet stands out as number one betting company in winners’ payment- Abiola
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Accessbet is one among the online bookmakers in Nigeria regulated by the National Regulatory Commission under TM Gaming Networks. This betting company offers the Nigerian punters- live betting, sports betting casino gambling and virtual games, among others. The Editor Gentechnews, Tony Nwakaegho in this exclusive interview spoke with the Head of Operations, Accessbet in the Lagos office, Mr Lawal Abiola on what makes Accessbet unique as one of the best bet companies in Nigeria, and other trending issues in the industry in Nigeria. Excerpts:
When did Accessbet Nigeria begin its operations in Lagos and how is it faring?
Accessbet Company is owned, controlled by an indigenous person, a Nigerian Managing Director. Mr Adetayo Cosmas. Accessbet started its Lagos operations in 2017 from its former office at Ojuelegba before moving to the current office location opposite Palmgrove bus stop, Lagos. Accessbet is doing great in the midst of competition because there are a lot of other betting companies. We have our headquarters in Abuja. Just like banks are referred to as financial institutions, the betting companies are known as book makers.
What do Accessbet offer to its clients that attract people to patronize it?
We have the online, virtual and the retail and Accessbet shops are patronized because in terms of payment of winners, we are the number one betting company. Even on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays when anyone makes a cash request the person receives the alert from Accessbet within five minutes.
The gaming industry is said to be worth over $2billion. Do you envisage any challenges for Accessbet in reaping from this low hanging fruit in Nigeria?
As far as we are concerned there are no challenges even though more companies are coming in. There are a lot of rooms opened to everyone to operate in the betting business in a country with over 200 million in population. We are well organized and have an Association called the Association of Nigerian Book Makers and we are regulated by the National Lottery Commission and the Lagos State Lottery Commission. I don’t see any challenges at all because when you know your onions, you can make it.
The betting industry is said to be saturated with illegal operators and quacks. What is being done to checkmate them?
To operate and get a company betting licence in Lagos there is a certain amount the company has to pay for registration. The company pays about N50 million for registration, then on yearly basis. The company then gets to renew the licence for N10million, but increased now to N15 million. After that the company on monthly basis pays the good cost money which is 2.5 percent of the total sales to the Lagos State Lottery Board. The company then submits reports from its online, virtuals and retails to the lottery board. Accessbet has been doing it for the past five years. These quacks and illegal operators don’t do all these. They are also people whose companies have no name and when they have game to play with bonuses they meet an existing shop of any betting company and if the company make sale of about N500, 000 and the owner of the shop has N200000, that shop will be willing to be ready to offer 30 to 70 to the illegal operator. They prefer to collect 30 and give those illegal operators 70 and they want to do so because it is free, but at the end of the day they will catch up with them and jail them.
However, the Lagos State Lottery Board has an operation team that goes around with law enforcement agents that are doing fantastic jobs by going after these quacks in the betting industry in Lagos.
A lot of people have continually engaged themselves as stakers in the betting industry. Is the industry a game changer in job and wealth creations in Nigeria? What is your take on this?
So far so good, the sport betting business has changed a lot of peoples’ lives in Nigeria. It is better for them, instead of getting involved in the illegal means of getting money via yahoo, yahoo and other criminal acts. Take for instance if a person has N1000, he can play and win with that amount. One of our agents, who is a business man at Surulere, Lagos staked N50, 000 with 22 games direct winnings and he won N28.45 million in November/ December. We also have those who won N1 million with just N1000 and so on. This industry can help to reduce crime in Nigeria as a whole.
How do you engage the people who are interested in becoming Accessbet agents in Lagos?
It all depends on the person. When the person sees someone doing the business which is a profitable one, the person may get interested. The agents make money on a weekly basis and at the end of the month there is another bonus the person will earn. So if you are a fresh graduate and you have little money to set up a small shop, all you need to do is put up a laptop and a system and start making money. Let’s assume that a person is making a profit of N30, 000 multiplied by two and by four weeks so that the end of the month the person will be making over N150, 000. This has helped a lot.
Who are those who are eligible to play on the Accessbet platform?
There are rules and regulations given to us that before you start operating there must be no person under 18 years in any shop. If the authority discovers any under age in any shop even if it is a licensed shop they will lock up the shop and arrest the agent. The agent will pay fine while the licensed company too will pay fine.
How is the company faring in terms of infrastructure, especially power and internet connectivity in running the virtuals, others, particularly in Lagos?
Access bet gives bonuses at the end of the month to support our agents. We have various network providers such as Spectranet, MTN, Glo, Airtel, and others. Some may work in certain locations, while others may not work in certain locations. So we advise our agents when they want to register to check where they are located to know the network that is working there and get it. Some networks fluctuate so one needs to get a network that works in his location of operation.
How does Accessbet Lagos Office operate in relation to its Headquarters in Abuja?
Accessbet is a unique indigenous company owned by a Nigerian, Mr Adetayo Cosmas and that stands it out from other sport betting companies owned by foreigners. Accessbet operates without any technical partner. In the Lagos office, we do training, lecturing among others for our agents. We have almost 40 shops in Lagos and precisely three or four in each local government in Lagos. We report to our headquarters in Abuja and are planning for expansion in our operations in Lagos.
